Oct 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Juancho Hernangomez (41) defends Dallas Mavericks guard Justin Anderson (1) in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 101-75. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas comes into the Mile High to battle the Denver Nuggets.
The Denver Nuggets suddenly have more competition for the 8th seed in the Western Conference. The Dallas Mavericks are no longer the laughing stock of the West like they were earlier in the season.
This doesn’t exactly bode well for Denver considering the Mavericks still found a way to defeat them at that time. What is shocking is that the Mavericks are not picking up this momentum due to their future Hall of Famer in Dirk Nowitski.
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No, the big cause of this sudden surge has been Yogi Ferrell. Ferrell, someone who was on a 10-day contract, recently inked a 2-year deal after a huge performance against the Portland Trail Blazers the other night.
Don’t be fooled though, he has been playing very consistently, so he more than earned the contract.
The Nuggets need to make sure they do not get caught up in the Ferrell-mania and come out and do their jobs.
Here are a couple things to look for in Denver.
Mar 28, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) fouls Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur (00) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Mavericks defeated the Nuggets 97-88. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Mix of youth and experience vs. mix of youth and experience
Both Denver and Dallas are similar in this one aspect. They both possess a mixed bag of talent.
Just like the Nuggets, the Mavericks have a bunch of youth led by some experienced veterans such as Nowitski, Williams, and Matthews.
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Denver is led by Chandler, Gallinari, and Faried on the experience front. However, the clash of youth on both sides will be intriguing as well.
You will have Ferrell vs. Mudiay and Harris vs. Curry. Yes, I mean Seth Curry by the way, not the splash brother in Golden State. At the end of the day, it is going to come down to which team’s experience is better than the other one.
Will Dirk suddenly revert back to his championship caliber ability in the waning moments? Will Nelson hit a clutch shot to save the day?
We will see in this great match-up.
The youth on both sides is going to have to do a good job of not letting up until crunch time.
Dec 19, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) shoots the ball as Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) defends during the first half at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Nikola Jokic has the potential to make a statement after a down game
After achieving a triple-double against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Serbian sensation was held silent by the San Antonio Spurs the following night.
On the other hand, I do not expect to see a repeat 11-point performance. No, I believe Jokic will come back with a vengeance and have a huge game no matter the outcome.
Look for Jokic to stuff the stat sheet like he has been doing as of late. It won’t be easy as he is going against a defensive minded center in Andrew Bogut. However, Jokic’s offensive finesse may be able to off-set Bogut’s gritty play style.
Bogut is a good rim protector, but slowing down the Joker after the roll he’s been on may be too tall of a task for him even. I might be wrong, but I am going to go ahead and predict 21 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds for the Joker in this game.
I will be utterly shocked if he has another off night and isn’t somewhere in the neighborhood of these numbers.
